Steam irons are used to remove creases from fabric, such as clothing and bedding. Steam irons comprise a body with a handle, so a user can manoeuvre the steam iron, and a soleplate which is placed in contact with the fabric to be ironed. The soleplate is heated to aid the removal of creases when ironing the fabric.
Conventionally, the boiler in the base unit provides steam to the soleplate through a hose, and the soleplate is provided with an embedded heating element. Steam can condense when travelling through the hose and therefore, the heating element heats and maintains the soleplate at a desired temperature to help remove creases, evaporate condensed water, and prevent steam, supplied through holes in the soleplate, from condensing.
However, steam irons are typically heavy due to, for example, the inclusion of the heating element to generate steam. In order to improve the efficiency of the steam generation, the mass of the soleplate is typically high so that it can store more heat. This makes it difficult for the user to manoeuvre the steam iron for long periods of time. The energy consumption of the heating element also limits the steam output produced by the boiler of a steamer which reduces the effectiveness of the steam iron.
It is commonly known in the dry cleaning service and other industrial laundry services to have steam irons that only use steam to remove creases from fabric. Pressurised steam is continuously circulated in a pressure chamber in order to maintain the high temperature of the steam iron. However, this is known to be inefficient and causes condensation.